Spring mattress



Feb. 12, 1935.

W. LEWIS SPRING MATTRESS Filed Jan. 31, 1933 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 l wag? TTORNE Y6 MYM Feb. 12, 1935. w, E 1,991,106

SPRING MATTRESS Filed Jan. 31, 1933 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 lnvpnron' TTOENE vs Patented Feb. 12, 1935 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 1 ,991,106 i SPRINGMATTRESS William Lewis, Utica, N. Y. s Application January31, 1933, Serial no. 654,451

4, Claims. (o1. -252) This invention relates to a spring mattress in springs arranged in such manner as to normally which a multiplicity of'tapered coil springs are hold the intermediate portions of the springs attached at theirsma'ller'ends toja suitable supof the inner set in axial alinement with their porting frame to extend outwardly or upwardly lower and upper ends hen the springs are sub; 5 therefrom in more or less uniformly spaced jected to pressure. a l parallel relation with their outer ends in 'sub- A further object is to provide the intermediate stantially the same plane parallel with that of portions of the springs of the inner "set with the-framefor"receiving andsupporting an upanchor membersfor attachmentto the adjacent holstered or equivalent mattress, the outer edges ends of the stay springs and to enable said mom 10 of "the larger ends of the coils being connected bers to be inserted between adjacent helices and 1 to a resilient marginalrailto hold them against turned 1 to interlock therewith against lateral relative lateral ,rnovement and at the same time displacement. t permitting them to yieldaxially under varying Other objects anduscswill be brought'out in pressures s the following description. Thecoil springs of this mattress are preier- In the,drawingS2'-- 15 I abl' arranged o as tocon'stitute what may be Fieu e a t p p of a p n of a sp i termed an ,outer marginal set and an intermemattress embodying the various features of my diate or inner set-and one'of the objects of the invention. a invention is to make the springs of the inner u e 2 is a V rtidal sec o al V ew tak n in set considerably longer than those of the outer the p a Figure 20 set "and to depress the intermediate portion of Fig r B i a p p ive vi w f one f t e the main frame a corresponding distance beyond e ac ed anc m mb rsi a therplane of themarginal edges of the frame Figured is a vertical sectionalviewtaken in s forf receiving and supporting the smaller ends of the plan of e 4-- Fi u e l the springs of the intermediate set. i Figure 5isan enlarged top plan of a modified 25 The main supporting frame, therforef conform of anchor plate shown as mounted upon stitutes what maybe termed the lower or springthe intermediate porti o 6 the p supporting deck-while "the upper marginal rail of the in er setahda o S o g t e a t is connected to the upper ends of themarginal ends of. the stay Springs attached t springs to assist in holding the; latter in spaced Figure 6 is atop plan of a modified form of 30 relation: 1 i p s anchor member attached-to the intermediate one object of the-invention is to provide what porti n f n f the inner pr n maybe termed an intermediate resilient deck Figure 7 is a detail vertical sectional view in aboutthe same plane as the marginal rails taken on line '7--'7, Figure 6.

of the main supporting frame and engaging the u e is a p P Of a further fi d 5 intermediatefportions of the springs of the form' of anchor member shown as ope fi yv inner set some distance from the ends thereof mounted upon the intermediate portion. of 1 one so that the portions of thesprings of theinterof th inn sp n s a d a s h w n th admcdiate *set betweenthe intermediate and upper jacent ends of the stay springs attached thereto.

40 deck ma'y have greater resilienoythan the por- As'illustrated, this spring mattress comprises 40 tiohsbetweri the intermediate deckand lower a main supp frame 1 o tituting what deckll may be termed the lower deck upon'which is In other words, I have sought to obtain a mountedan outer marginal set of coil springs 12 gradually increasing resistance of the springs and an inner set of coil springs 2 having their of the inner set underpressure so that the upupper ends disposed in substantially the same per portions of said springs above the interhorizontal plane parallel with that of the frame mediate deck will yield under comparatively 1 for receiving and yieldingly supporting an uplight pressure while the portions below the inpermarginalrail 3. a

termediate deck will havegreater resistance but The main supporting frame 1 preferably com- 5 will gradually yield as the pressure upon the prises an outer marginal rail l, lengthwise bars larger endsof the springs increases. 5 and cross wire or rods" 6, the bars 5 having Another object jis' to, connect the intermediate their opposite ends secured by rivets '7 or equiva portions of-the springsof the inner set with each lent' fastening meets to the (upper faces of the other and with the smaller endsof the springs opposite ends of the-marginal rail 4 in spaces of the outer set by means of additional coil parallel relation while the opposite ends of the 1 rods 6 are secured in a manner presently described to the corresponding sides of the rail 4,

as shown more clearly in Figures 2 and 4.

The rail 4 is preferably made of angle iron arranged with one of its flanges uppermost and extending outwardly, as shown more clearly in Figure 2, said rail being preferably continuous around the four sides of the mattress which may be of any desired form according to the use to which it is put, but is shown as substantially rectangular with rounded corners, as shown in Figure 1 comprising one end of the mattress, it being understood that the other end will be of substantially the same form and construction when the mattress is used as a bed or couch.

All portions of the marginal rail 4 are disposed in substantially the same plane, but the intermediate portions of the bars 5 and rods 6 are depressed some distance below or to one side of the plane of the rail 4, as shown more clearly in Figures 2 and 4, the bar 5 being preferably rectangular in cross section and arranged with its intermediate portion edgewise vertically while its ends are arranged edgewise horizontally to rest flatwise upon the upper surface of the rail 4. 1

The opposite ends of each of the rods 6 are looped downwardly around the lower edge of the rail 4 and upwardly across the outer edge of said rail to firmly lock said rods against endwise movement relatively to the rail 4, the portions of said bars adjacent the inner and outer edges of the rails 4 being returned downwardly to form outer and inner loops 8 and 8' which project slightly above the upper faces of the rail for re-' ceiving the adjacent smaller ends of the springs 2 of the outer set, as shown more clearly in Figure 4.

The depressed intermediate portions of the rods 6 are provided with loops 9 extending under the lower edges and upwardly across the opposite sides of the bars 5 to hold their bars against lateral movement and also to assist in holding the rods against relative endwise movement, the upper ends of the loops being extended slightly above the upper edges of the bars 5 and laterally therefrom to permit the lower ends of the intermediate springs 2" to be threaded thereon, as shown in Figure 4, thereby holding the lower ends of these springs in fixed relation.

As previously stated, the upper rail 3 extends around the outer edges of the larger upper ends of the springs 2 of the outer set and is disposed in a plane substantially parallel with that of. the lower rail or deck 4 in vertically spacedrelation thereto to permit said rail to be depressed toward the lower deck against theaction of the springs, said rail 3 being attached to the adjacent portions ofv the springs 2 by means of metal clips 10,"as shown more clearly in Figures 1, 2 and 4.

It will be noted upon reference to Figure 1 that the lower ends of the corner springs and side springs 2 of the outer set are mounted directly upon the upper faces of the rail 4 and that the lower ends of the corner springs are secured to said rail by relatively short rods 11 similar to the opposite ends of the cross rods 6 in that they extend around the lower edge and upwardly along the opposite sides ofthe rail and having their opposite ends returned to form loops 8 and 8' similar to those previously described on the ends of the rods ,6 for receiving the lower helices of the adjacent springs and holding them in fixed relation to the rail. The lower ends ,of the end springs 2 of the outer set between the corner springs are mounted directly upon the upper faces of the adjacent ends of the bars 5 just inside of the adjacent end portions of the rail 4 and are secured thereto by rods 12 similar to but somewhat shorter than the rods 6 to' hold said springs in fixed relation to the bars 5 of the lower deck of which they form a part as shown more clearly in Figures 1 and 2.

That is, the ends of the rods 12 are'extended under the lower faces of the'adjacent ends of the bars 5 and are provided with loops 12 at opposite edges of the bars through which the lower ends of the adjacent springs are threaded, thereby assisting in holding the bars against lateral movement and also holding the lower ends of the adjacent springs in fixed relation to the lower deck.

It will be noted upon reference to Figures 1, 2 and 4 that the springs 2 and 2 are arranged in rows extending lengthwise and crosswise of the mattress in parallel spaced. relation for freedom of yielding movementwithout interfering one with the other.

The upper or larger helices of the springs of adjacent rows are yieldingly connected to each other by coil springs 13 which are arrangedin pairs, each pair serving to connect adjacent sides of four ofthe coil springs 2 and 2.

That is, the springs of each pair cross each other diagonally and radially with reference to the coil springs connected thereby, "the, crossing portions being interlaced one with the other to bring them in substantially the same plane and also to increase-the tension of the springsby interlocking their intermediate portions one with the other, as shown more clearly in Figure 1.

An intermediate resilient deck 14 isnormally supported in about the. plane of the upper surface of the lower deck 1 parallel therewith and comprises anchor members 15 and helical stay springs 16, 16. and 16", and in view of they fact that the inner springs 2" of the inner set extend downwardly some distance below the upper surface of the lower deck, itis evident that the intermediate resilient deck 14 will be disposed in a plane some distance from and between the lower and upper ends of the springsof theinner set.

It will be. observed upon reference to Figures 2, 3 and 4 that the anchor members 15 are at: tached to the intermediate portions of their respective coil springs 2, this .attachmentbeing effected by providing each of theanchor mem bers with a circular raised boss 1'7 seated with in the adjacent helix of the corresponding spring in a manner presently described.

Each anchor member is also provided with a plurality of, in this instance four, radially projecting arms 18 arranged in uniformly spaced relation circumferentially aboutthe axis thereof, each arm being provided with an aperture, 19 for receiving the adjacent endsof a corresponding number of pairs of the stay springs 16 and 16, see Figure 3. g

The adjacent helices of the intermediate POT". tion of each of the-springs 2 engaged by the corresponding anchor'member 15 are normally in close engagement with each other while-the remaining helices of the same spring above and below the anchor member are spaced a suflicient distance apart to permit said anchor member to be inserted radially therebetween' and when theanchor member is thus inserted, it is turned about-itsaxis toscrewthe arms 18 between the normallyclosed helices sothat the tension of the latter toward each .othertends to hold the anchor member in its adjusted position *with theraised boss within the adjacent portion of the spring, thereby'locking the spring and anchor member to each other against relative lateral movernent.-"

[Under these 'conditions, the radial arms- 18 project beyond the periphery of the; adjacent portion of the spring diagonally o'f th e trans- =verse"and lengthwise rows of springs, as shown moreclearly'in Figure'l. e

The springs 16 are arranged in pairs; those of each'pairserving-to connect thelower or smaller end of one of the outer set of springs '2 with two ofthe arms 18 on the next adjacent intermediate spring 2 l The "springs16"are also arrangedin pairs and serveto connect adjacent pairs'ofarrns 18 {of the anchor members-15 of adjacent springs 2" iof each"transverse row oi-said intermediate springs. I

In like manner, the springs lG" are arranged in pairs those of each pair extending lengthwise of each lengthwise'frow of springs'2" and are connected to adjacent pairs of thearms 18 -oi. the anchor members l5 or the intermediate springs. i

"It w'ill now be'observed that th'einterm'ediate portions of thei'springs 2 of each transverse row are 'yieldingly connectedto each other through the med-ium of the springs 16' and their corresponding anchor members- 15 and that the lower ends of the outersprings 2 of the same transverse row are yieldingly connected to the anchor' members 15-on' the 1 intermediate portions of the adjacent inner springs 2" 'so'that the springs 16 and 16 constitute parts of the intermediate resilient deck.

In like manner, the intermediate portions of the springs 2 of each lengthwise row are yieldingly connected to each other through the medium of the stay springs 16" and anchor members 15 which also form parts of the intermediate resilient deck 14.

It will be noted upon reference to Figure 1 that the lower end of each of the springs of the outer marginal set, except those at the corners, is connected by two stay springs 16 to the intermediate portion of the adjacent spring 2 of the intermediate set and that the springs 16 extend along the cross rods 6 and lengthwise bars 5 and,therefore, the transverse stay springs 16 of each pair will extend at substantially right angles to those along the lengthwise bars, the'function of which is to yieldingly hold the intermediate portions of the springs of the site or outer set of springs 16 serve to hold the intermediate portions of the inner springs coaxial with their opposite ends against relative lateral movement.

Under this arrangement, the springs 2 of the intermediate set are all yieldingly tied to each other through the medium of the stay springs '16" and lB' 'a-nd anchor members- '15 are also yieldingly connected to the lower 'endsof the springs 2 of the outer set through the medium of the stay springs 16, thus permit-ting the outer or larger ends of=the intermediate springs 1 2" to flex axially under relatively 'light 'pressures, which flexing action is continued through the lower portions of the intermediate springs as'jth'e pressure on the larger ends increases,

each-intermediate spring'being free to flex-axi 1 pressures and also capable r of self-restoration to their normal positions when the pressure is removed. V

It will be seen from the foregoing description,particular1y uponreference to Figure 1, that each arm 18 of each anchor member is adapted to receive the adjacent ends offtwo stay springs or in other words, each anchor member is adaptedto receive the adjacent V of eight'stay springs, I a The outer ends of the stay springs '1-6are provided with eyes or hooks adapted "to engage the inner sides of the lower ends of the "corresponding springs 2 of the outer set while their inner ends are provided with similar hooks adapted-to be attached :to the corresponding arms 18 0f adjacent anchormembers ior the springs of the inner set: a

The -anchor member l5 preferably consists of a metal plate having its central portion pressed upwardly to form the boss 1'7.

In Figure 5 I have shown a modified anchor member consisting of a metal plate 15' having radial arms 18 similar to those shown in Figure 3, the boss 17 being omitted and the central portion cut away to form an opening 20, said plate being provided with a plurality of, in this instance four, lugs 21 arranged in uniformly spaced relation circumferentially between the piece of wire bent into rectangular form "and the corners thereof deflected outwardly to form loop-shaped arms 18 for receiving the adjacent ends of the stay springs 16' and 16", the ends of the wire anchor member being secured together at 22. i

The portions of the arms 18' extending across opposite sides of the intermediate portion of the spring 2' are bent downwardly to form loops 23 which receive the adjacent portions of the spring 2' to hold the anchor member and springagainst relative lateral movement, see' Figure 7.

In Figure 8 is shown an anchor member 15" which also consists of a single piece of wire bent into more or less circular form and provided with radially projecting looped arms 18" for receiving the adjacent ends of the stay springs 16 andlfi, the portions of the anchor member between the arms being overturned outwardly at 24 upon the adjacent helix of the intermediate portion of the spring 2 to hold the lateral movement.

All Eof these modified anchor members are found tobe-apracticable equivalent ofthat shown inFigure 3 to serve thesame purpose and may also be inserted between the closely arranged helices-of the spring 2' in the manner previously described. i Aspring mattress constructed in the manner described is strong, durable and highly resilient for light and heavyweights or pressures and while it is particularly adapted for beds, couches, lounges and analogouspieces of furniture, it may be usedfor chairs and other seats or for the backs of any upholstered article, and in allof suchvuses the springs of the outer set as well as those of theinner set will be maintained in substantially parallel relation.

Itis also evident that the upper marginal rail 3 andlarger ends of the outer set of springs to which it is attached is free to yield laterally in all directions under corresponding pressures with the assurance that they will be self-restoring to their normal upright positions with the axes of the springs substantially at right angles to the main supporting frame 4.

I Some changemay be made, however, in the detail construction of the various parts of the mattress without departing from the spirit of the invention. a l

5 What I claim is: v

1. A spring mattress comprising, in combination, aframe, a coil spring mounted on the frame, an'anchor member attached to the intermediate portionof the spring and provided with aqplurality of arms arranged in uniformlyspaced relation about the axis thereof, each arm having ap'air of stay-springs attached at one end theretosat a common point and their other ends attached to the arms of similar anchor-members of adjacent springs.

2. A spring mattress comprising, in combination, a frame, inner and outer sets of coil springs mounted on the framapseparate anchor members inserted between intermediate helices of the springs of the inner'set and each, provided with a plurality of radial arms arranged in spaced relation about the axis thereof, divergent stay-springs connecting certain arms of the anchor members: with adjacent springs of the outer set, and additional stay-springs connecting the same arms to the arms of similar anchor members of adjacent springs ofthe inner set. i 3. In a spring mattress,;the combination with a frame and a' coil spring mounted thereon, of an anchor member removably inserted between intermediate helices of the spring and provided with a plurality of radial arms arranged in spaced relation about the axis thereof,'and separate pairs of stay-springs, one pair for each arm and those of each pair connecting its corresponding .arm with the arms of similananchor members of adjacent springs. a

4. A spring mattress comprising a -frame, outer and inner sets of coil'springs mounted on the frame to extend upwardly therefrom, and,an

chor members interposed between adjacent intermediate helixes of the springs of the 'inner set and each provided with four radial arms arranged in uniformly spaced relation about the axis thereof, each arm having a pair of helical stay springs attached thereto, some of the stay springs being attachedto the adjacentsprings of the outer set and others connecting the adjacent arms of the anchor membersi,v

WILLIAM LEWIS. 

